I recently ordered a very nicely built carbon-fiber righting bar from Jeremy at Surf City Catamarans in Santa Cruz. He sold it to me with the warning that installation on a 17 would require fabrication. (Why? the 17 tramp slopes upward starting about 20" aft of the front cross-bar. So if you attach the righting bar to the cross bar, when it lays back against the tramp, it will point downward, which means the last foot or so of the righting bar will constantly drag in the water. Or you can tightly secure it to the rear cross bar, which will create a stiff hump in the tramp, and perhaps damage the righting bar or the tramp)

The solution is to attach it to the bottom of the dolphin striker so it will point straight back to the rear cross bar. So here is how I did it.

The following is fully DIY with a hand drill, bench vise, hack saw, three drill bits, and a 1/4-20 tap.

I found a piece of aluminum that was thick enough and wide enough to make the two aluminum brackets in the pic. (email me for exact dimensions; boat's 30 miles away right now) I measured the diameter of the dolphin striker lateral support rod; drilled that diameter hole in the aluminum; cut the whole thing in half; drilled tap holes (#7 drill) in the aluminum; clamped everything together on the boat; used the tap holes as a guide to drill the holes in the stainless bracket on the righting bar; tapped the 1/4-20 holes in aluminum.

Tested on the water, worked perfectly; I weigh about 180, and the boat righted very quickly. A righting bar is a safety must-have on a 17.

Great suggestion Mike! A molybdenum anti sieze ointment is on the bolts on mine. And Nylocks are a great idea too, it's on my to-do list. Thanks!

Doug: I'll post a drawing with dimensions next time I go to my boat. I've been trying to get out there, but last weekend I was camping with my oldest boy, next weekend its camping with my two middle boys, so it will be another ten days before I can get you those numbers!

Attachment to the dolphin striker should not be a problem as long as the vertical/horizontal axis of the dolphin striker is stabalized. To that end a slight modification might be suggested. Since the stainless steel cross bar of the dolphin striker passes through a hole in vertical pole (i.e., is not locked into place), it might be a good idea to extend the aluminum U nuts of the power pole attachment inward so they bracket the vertical pole. This will reduce any possible side slip of the u-joint when righting the boat.

Yes, I have used it to right the boat; once when I first built it and a couple of times over the summer. Works great.

Comment to Adam: It does not appear to place adverse stress on the dolphin striker. While lawn-testing, I looked at that; there was no observable flex, creaking bending etc... In addition, compare the forces in a righting situation (which are carried largely by the 5mm corner lines provided in the righting bar kit) to the forces of the sail, mast stepping, torsional hull forces. The dolphin striker is relatively relaxed during righting, in my opinion.

This is probably a stupid question (since you went to all the work described above) ..... but is it the case that there isn't a righting bar that works on the H17 out of the box, without adding additional pieces? Sorry to ask the obvious but just gotta know.

This is probably a stupid question (since you went to all the work described above) ..... but is it the case that there isn't a righting bar that works on the H17 out of the box, without adding additional pieces? Sorry to ask the obvious but just gotta know.

Also: Dan - any more follow up on how this bar is holding up?

It is because of the way the tramp curves down as it goes back. The front crossbar is higher than the rear. The tramp will not let the bar go up. That s why you have to move the front of the bar down. They have come up with a good solution.

This is probably a stupid question (since you went to all the work described above) ..... but is it the case that there isn't a righting bar that works on the H17 out of the box, without adding additional pieces? Sorry to ask the obvious but just gotta know.

Hi Adam,

Before building the mod, I looked around on the web; found nothing available. So I started designing. After I built it, I stopped thinking about it.

"just gotta know" - go on the web and start digging. Then do what I did - set up your boat, take nice pics and share your findings with the H17 community. I'd like to see an easier solution than mine.